To a Stranger
by IAmTheHero
Summary: Arthur had meant to give her the note. He had meant to slip it into her hand after they landed. But she slipped away into the crowd and he lost her. And now almost two years have passed, he finds her again…
1. Prologue

It was finished. The plane skidded across the runway, delivering every person onboard to Los Angeles Airport.

Cobbs one last job was over. Arthur watched as he left the airport with Miles, wearing the look of a man who has just won his life back. And he couldn't have been happier for his former partner. Keeping in ordinance with the no-contact rule after the mission, Arthur did not approach any of his colleagues. But still, he found them. Eames stood in one corner leaning against a luggage rack. Yusef scooping his duffle bag off the carousel and making his way to the door. And Ariadne…he needed to find her. A hand in his pocket clutched a folded piece of paper. He meant it for her.

He moves to slip the note in her hand. Wields his way through the throngs of people milling around the luggage carousel. He sees her in her white jacket standing about ten feet away from him. Placed unhelpfully between a large man babbling on a cell phone and a woman with two children swinging from her arms. He see's her blue bag turn the corner around the carousel and in a moment it will reach her. She will yank it up and make her way toward the door. As soon as she is on the move, he will make his.

He swears he only looked away for a moment. A siren had gone off at a security check point somewhere on the other side of the building. It has been a habit of his to tense up at any sound of sirens and take inventory of his surroundings, should he need an escape route. But that siren had nothing to do with him. He needn't have concerned himself with it. And it cost him his one chance. A second after realizing where and what the siren had been, he snapped his focus back to monitoring Ariadne, only to see the man on his phone and the woman swinging children were standing side by side. No architect in between. He'd lost her.

He frantically searched the area, scanning every corner from his rooted position by the window. He turned around and saw through the window a small young woman in a white jacket climbing into a taxi which pulled away from the curb the instant she shut the door. And like that – she was gone. The folded piece of paper crumpled in his clenched fist.

**I know it was kind of short. I am working on the rest but have hit a road block. Please, if you are interested, please use the comments to help me brainstorm, or send me a message. I have some written but I like advice. (But any kind of comments are always welcome ) Also – would you prefer to see shorter chapters or longer chapters**


	2. Chapter 1

**I am sorry for the short chapter after such a long time without an update. I promise I will start posting longer ones at shorter intervals. I am taking an online summer class at cc and have fallen really behind plus I started a new job…So I don't have a lot of time. But I promise once I get caught up with homework I will start writing for this again. But here's what I got so far. **

**Oh, and disclaimer: I do not own Inception.**

Two Years Later…

You have been cordially invited to

The Grand Opening of Grand-Musée D'Art De Paris

Refreshments and dinner will be served

Saturday March 28, 2012

Formal Attire, Please

"You'll be great," he assured her with a kiss on the forehead, "the hard part is over – designing it and actually getting the thing built. Now all that's left is the thanking and shaking hands of the people who funded this. Piece of cake. Don't worry."

"Thanks Jason," Ariadne smiled.

A reassuring squeeze of the hand and he stepped out of the limo. With one more deep breath, Ariadne took the hand waiting for hers and stepped carefully onto the carpet that disguised the cement sidewalk. She was not blinded by cameras and flashing lights nor harangued by interviewers. There were two or three news cameras off to the side, snapping modest shots of the architecture and several of the more well-known benefactors of the project, but no one cared for her picture or her quotes. She was merely one of the architects. One of four, actually, who had a hand in imagining and sketching and building the glorious structure which now sat at the heart of Paris. It had been her dream job for so long. Until two years ago.

The discovery of dream-sharing had changed everything for Ariadne. Her once carefully planned future which she had crafted point by point was now uncertain. It wasn't set in stone, as she had always preferred her life. She longed for so many things now that she never had before. For the ability to imagine and build with no hindrances. To slip into a dream and be able to control it so completely and utilize all her talents in one piece. To work with a team who all shared such a magnificent secret. To work alongside a certain tall, dark haired man whom she had last seen two years ago before leaving the Los Angeles Airport. Alone.

The glorious lobby of the museum was draped with a banner announcing the museums "Arrival to Paris" and golden lights strung high above the guests, swinging like vines from the dome ceiling Ariadne remembers re-sketching at least eighty times. She stares up at it in a mixture of disbelief and sad remembrance. It was difficult to believe that something of own hand had actually come to physical reality. However it also brought back memories of the days when mere ideas from her mind could spring from the ground in an instant. But, she had to remind herself, those days were gone. And what she had created then could never be real. None the less, she missed it dearly.

A warm hand at the small of her back caused the young woman to jolt out of her thoughts. Jason was by her side once again, handing her a glass of champagne.

"Thanks," she smiled at her date, taking the glass from his hand, which was also holding his own drink.

"Look at this, babe," he grinned, leaning closer to speak into her ear, "you did this."

"Yeah," Ariadne grinned up at the ceiling and turned slowly, eyes travelling down the walls of the room, the grand staircase, the balconies and the works of art. This was real. It was happening and everyone could see it and would know of it. It was beautiful, she reminded herself, even without any paradoxes.

**Ok, I promise to update soon. I think I know where I want this to go now. But please still review and tell me what you think, maybe what you'd like to see. Thank you! **


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